Disciplining Oneself

How can the Muslim discipline himself Islamically, especially if he
has shortcomings with regard to his religious commitment, which Allaah
knows bestabout?
Praise be to Allaah.
Acknowledging your shortcomings is one of the first steps in
disciplining yourself.
Whoever acknowledges that he has shortcomings has startedon the path
to self-discipline. This acknowledgement is one of the things that
make us discipline ourselves and be persistent in doing so. This
acknowledgement should not put you off disciplining yourself. It isa
sign of Allaah's care when a person tries to change himself and
develop, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, Allaah will not change the condition of a people as long as
they do not change their state themselves"
[al-Ra'd 13:11]
So whoever tries to change for the sake of Allaah, Allaah will help
him to change.
Each person is individually responsible for his own self, and will be
questioned individually, as Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most
Gracious (Allaah) as a slave.
Verily, He knows each one of them, and has counted them a full counting.
And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of
Resurrection (without any helper, or protector or defender)"
[Maryam 19:93-95]
Man cannot benefit fromwhat he has been told about goodness unless he
himself takes an interest in that. Do you not know the story of the
wife of Nooh and the wife of Loot, who were members of the households
of two Prophets, one of whom was one of the Messengers of strong will?
Imagine how these Prophets strove to guidetheir wives and how much
guidance these wives received, but there was no interest on their
part, so it was said to both of them:
"Enter the Fire along with those who enter!"
[al-Tahreem 66:10 – interpretation of the meaning]
Whereas the wife of Pharaoh – even though she was a member of
thehousehold of one of the greatest evildoers – is presented by Allaah
as an example to those who believe because shedisciplined herself.
The ways in which a Muslim can discipline himself are as follows:
1- Worshipping Allaah,keeping in contact with Him and submitting
to Him. That is done by paying attention to doing obligatory acts of
worship well, and cleansing your heart of any attachment to anything
other than Allaah.
2- Reading Qur'aan a great deal, pondering itsmeanings and seeking
to understand it.
3- Reading useful religious books that describe the ways of
treating and cleansing the heart, such as Mukhtasar Manhaaj
al-Qaasideen, Tahdheeb Madaarij al-Saalikeen and so on; reading the
biographies of the salaf (pious predecessors) andlearning about their
attitude and behaviour, such as Sifat al-Safwah by Ibn al-Jawzi and
Aynanahnu min Akhlaaq al-Salaf by Baha' al-Deen'Aqeel and Naasir
al-Jaleel.
4- Attending educational programs such as classes and lectures.
5- Making good use of your time and using it todo things that will
be of benefit in both worldly and spiritual terms
6- Not indulging too much in permissible things and not paying too
much attention to them.
7- Keeping company with righteous people and looking for righteous
companions, who can help you to do good. Those who live alone will
miss out on a lot of the characteristics of a good brother such as
preferring others to oneself and being patient.
8- Trying to act on what you learn and put it into practice.
9- Checking closely on yourself.
10-Having confidence in yourself – whilst relying on Allaah – because
the one who has no confidence cannot act.
11-Despising yourself fornot doing enough for the sake of Allaah. This
does not contradict the things mentioned above.Man has to strive hard
whilst still thinking that his efforts are not enough.
12-Practising withdrawal or isolation as prescribed in sharee'ah
(Islamic law). You should not mix with people all the time, rather you
must have some time which you spend alone, in worship as prescribed in
Islam.
We ask Allaah to help us and you to discipline ourselves and submit to
that which Allaah loves and is pleased with. May Allaah send blessings
and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad andupon his family and companions.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

If a couple died together in an accident, who inherits from whom?

I have a relative who died along with her husband in an accident when
they had only been married for about five months. This was her first
marriage but hehad another wife and sons and daughters, and when he
died (the first wife) was still married tohim.
My question is: who inherits from my relativewho was the second wife?
And what is to be included in her estate? Who is entitled to the gold
that her deceased husband gave to her at her wedding? Does it go to
her heirs or the heirs of the husband, or to both? How should it be
divided? Please note that he has sons and daughters, and a father and
siblings, and she hasa mother, two sisters and a brother.
With regard to the delayed portion of the mahr that was agreed upon in
the marriage contract, should the husband's family give it to her
heirs or is her andtheir right to it waived?
She had a separate house that the husband rented to be a marital home,
and he furnished it and equipped it; to whom should the furniture and
equipmentgo?
He also owned a house in which he and his first wife and children
lived; can my relative inherit any part of it and of what her husband
left behind, or not?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
When a person dies he may be inherited from by his living heirs, so it
isessential to establish whether the heir was still alive after the
person died. In the case asked about here, if it becomes clear to us
that one of the spouses died after the other, even by a short moment,
then the one who died later inherits from the first one, then the
inheritance passes to his or her heirs after that.
But if we do not know which of the two spouses died first, then the
majority of scholars are of the view that it cannot be proven that
they inherit from one another, so neither of them inherits from the
other, because one of the conditions of inheritance is that we should
establish that the heir was still alive after the death of the
deceased, and this condition is not met in this case.
So the husband's estate should be divided among his heirs, and his
wife does not inherit anything from him.
And the wife's estate should be divided among her heirs, and her
husband does not inherit anything from her.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
concerningthe ruling on a situation where a group of peoplewho would
inherit from one another died in an accident. He said: When that
happens, one of thefollowing five scenarios apply:
1. We know exactly who died last, so he inherits from those who
died first, and not the other way round.
2. We know that they all died at the same time,so there is no
inheritance among them, because one of the conditions of inheritance
is that the heir should still be alive after the death of the
deceased, de facto or de jure, but that is not the case here.
3. We do not know how they died; was it one after another or all
at the same time?
4. We know that they died one after another, but we do not know
exactly who died after whom.
5. We know who died after whom but then we forgot.
In the last three cases, they do not inherit from one another
according to the three imams [Abu Haneefah, Maalik and ash-Shaafa'i];
this is also the view favoured by al-Muwaffaq Ibn Qudaamah, al-Majd,
Shaykh Taqiy ad-Deen Ibn Taymiyah and our shaykhs 'Abd ar-Rahmaan
as-Sa'di and'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz. This is the correct opinion,
because one of the conditions of inheritance is that the heir should
still be alive after the death of the deceased, de facto or de jure,
but this condition isnot met when it is not known. However the
Shaafa'is said that in the last scenario these decisions should be
delayed until they remember or agree, because remembering is not
something impossible.
End quote from Tasheel al-Faraa'id, p. 142, 143
Based on that, when dividing the wife's estate:
If the husband died afterthe wife, then he inherits from her, and her
estate is to be divided as follows:
The husband gets one half, the mother gets one sixth, and the
remainder goes to the brother and two sisters, with the male getting
the share of two females.
If we do not know whether the husband died after she did, then her
estate is to be divided among the mother and siblings as follows:
The mother gets one sixth, and the remaindergoes to the brother and
two sisters, with the male getting the share of two females.
With regard to this division of the husband'sestate:
If the wife died after he did, then she inherits from him and his
estate is to be divided as follows:
The two wives together get one eighth, the father gets one sixth, and
the children get the rest, with each male getting the share of two
females. The siblings do not get anything.
If we do not know whether the wife died after him, then she does not
inherit from him andhis estate is to be divided as mentioned above. So
the father getsone sixth, the first wife gets one eighth to herself,
and the children get the rest, with each male getting the share of two
females.
Secondly:
Your relative's estate is everything that she left behind of wealth
that she owned. That includes her mahr that was given to her, whether
it was gold or cash, as well as gifts that were given to her, because
they became her property.
With regard to the delayed portion of her mahr, this is a debt owed by
the husband, soit must be taken from hisestate and added to hers, then
divided among her heirs.
Also included in her estate is the diyah if the accident was caused by
an individual, whether itwas her husband or anyone else and her heirs
asked for the diyahor it was paid by the insurance.
With regard to the furniture and equipmentin the house, they belong to
the husband unless that was part of her mahr, as is customary in some
countries, or any part of it was given as a gift by the husband to his
wife.
Thirdly:
The husband's estate is whatever he left behind of wealth that
belonged to him. That includes thehouse that he owned. This estate is
to be divided among all his heirs.
With regard to this issue of inheritance, referenceshould be made to
the sharee'ah court so as to find out and list all thosewho are
entitled to inheritance and the estate, and to find out the
circumstances of death and which of the spouses died first. Because
there is a difference of scholarly opinion concerning inheritance
between thespouses in such cases, the one who should handle any cases
of disagreement among the heirs is the qaadi (judge).
And Allah knows best.

The Status of the Family in Islam

What does Islam teach about the family and theroles of men , women and Children?
Praise be to Allaah.
Before we find out about the role of Islam in organizing and
protecting the family, we should first find out what the situation of
thefamily was before Islam, and what it is in the West in modern
times.
Before Islam, the family was based on mistreatment and oppression. All
affairs were controlled only by men or in other words, the males, and
women and girls were oppressed and humiliated. An example of that is
that if a man died and left behind a wife, his son by another wife had
the right to marry her and control her life, or to prevent her from
getting married. Men were the only ones who could inherit; women and
children had no share. They viewed women, whether they were mothers,
daughters or sisters, as a source of shame, because they could be
taken as prisoners, thus bringing shame upon the family. Hence a man
would buryhis infant daughter alive, as is referred to in the Qur'aan,
where Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And when the news of (the birth of) a female (child) is brought to
any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward
grief!
He hides himself from the people because of the evil of that whereof
he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonour or bury her
inthe earth? Certainly, evil is their decision"
[al-Nahl 16:58]
The family in the broader sense, i.e., the tribe, was based on
supporting one another in all things, even in wrongdoing.
When Islam came, it did away with all that and established justice,
giving each person his or her rights, even nursing infants, and even
the miscarried foetus who was to be respected and prayed for (i.e.,
given a proper funeral).
When you examine the family in the West today you will find that
families are disintegrating and the parents cannot control their
children, whether intellectually or morally. The son has the right to
go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants; the daughter has the
right to sit with whoever she wants and sleep with whoever she wants,
all in the name offreedom and rights. And what is the result? Broken
families, childrenborn outside marriage, (elderly) mothers and fathers
who are not looked after. As some wise men have said, if you want to
know the true nature of these people, go to the prisonsand the
hospitals and seniors' homes, for children do not remember their
parents except on holidays and special occasions.
The point is that many non-Muslims the institution of family is
destroyed. When Islam came it paid a great dealof attention to the
establishment of strong families and protecting them from things that
could harm them, and preserving family ties whilst giving each member
of the family animportant role in life.
Islam honoured women, whether as mothers, daughters or sisters. It
honoured women as mothers. It was narratedthat Abu Hurayrah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: A man came tothe Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of
Allaah, who among people is most deservingof my good company?" He
said, "Your mother." He asked, "Then who?" He said, "Your mother." He
asked, "Then who?" He said, "Your mother." He asked, "Then who?" He
said, "Then your father."
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5626; Muslim, 2548)
Islam honours women asdaughters. It was narrated from Abu Sa'eed
al-Khudri that theMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "Whoever has threedaughters or three sisters, or
two daughtersor two sisters, and takes good care of them and fears
Allaah with regard to them, will enter Paradise."
(Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh, 2/190)
And Islam honours women as wives. It was narrated that 'Aa'ishah said:
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "The best of you are those who are best to their wives, and I am
the best of you to my wives."
(Narrated and classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi, 3895).
Islam gave women their rights of inheritance andother rights. It gave
women rights like those of men in many spheres. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Womenare the twin halves of
men." (Narrated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan, 236, from the hadeeth
of'Aa'ishah; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood,
216).
Islam encourages men totreat their wives well, and gives women the
freedom to choose their husbands; it gives women much of the
responsibility for raising the children.
Islam gives fathers and mothers a great deal of responsibility for
raising their children. It was narrated that 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Umar
heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) say, "Each of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock.
The leader is a shepherd and is responsible for hisflock. The man is
the shepherd of his family and he is responsible forhis flock. The
woman is the shepherd of her husband's household and is responsible
for her flock. The servant is a shepherd of his master's wealth and is
responsible for his flock." He said, I heard this from the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 853; Muslim,1829)
Islam paid a great deal of attention to implanting the principle of
respect for fathers and mothers, taking careof them and obeying their
commands until death. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you
be dutiful to your parents. If one ofthem or both of them attain old
age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at
them but address them in terms ofhonour"
[al-Isra' 17:23]
Islam protects the honour, chastity, purity and lineage of the family,
so it encourages marriage and forbids free mixing of men and women.
Islam gives each family member an important role to play. So fathers
and mothers take care ofthe children and give them an Islamic
upbringing; children areto listen and obey, and respect the rights of
fathers and mothers, on a basis of love and respect. Even our enemies
have borne witness to the strength of family ties among the Muslims.
And Allaah knows best.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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Are We True Muslims? – I

Brothers in Islam! Who are true Muslims? Let Us see what Allaah
Almighty and His Messenger have to say about their lives and hearts:
Allaah Almighty Says (what means): {Say: My prayers and my sacrifices,
and my living and my dying are for Allaah Alone, the Lord of all the
worlds. No partnerhas He. Thus I have been commanded, and I am
foremost among those who surrender [themselves unto Him]} [Quran 6:
163–4].
The same theme is elucidated by the Prophet : "One who loves for the
sake of Allaah Alone and hates for the sake of Allaah Alone; and
whatever he gives, gives for the sake of Allaah Alone,and whatever he
withholds, withholds for the sake of Allaah Alone –indeed, he perfects
his Imaan (faith)." [Abu Daawood]
The Quran makes clear what Allaah Almighty demands of you. You should
devote yourselves wholly to the service of Allaah Almighty, you should
live for Him Alone, you should die for Him Alone. You, and the world
aroundyou, entirely belong to Allaah Almighty; let nobody have a
sharein what belongs to Allaah The Most High. That is to say, you
should not serve anyone but Him,nor live or die for anyone but Him,
Almighty.
The Prophet explains what the Quran has said. To be a true believer,
your love and enmity foreverything, all your affections, all relations
and transactions in yourlives, should have only one purpose: to seek
Allaah's Pleasure. Without this your faith itself will not be
complete; the possibility of rising higher in the sight of Allaah
Almighty does not arise. The greater the deficiency in this respect,
the more defective the faith.
Some people think that these qualities are required only to reach
higher spiritual stations and are not essential to Imaan (faith) and
Islam. In other words, even without these qualities a person can be a
good believer and a Muslim. This mistaken notion has arisen because
peoplein general do not differentiate between legal Islam and true
Islam which alone is truly authentic in the sight of Allaah Almighty.
Two Types of Islam
Legal Islam
Under legal Islam, on which jurists and states must base
theirdealings, what lies in your hearts and minds is not taken into
account, nor can it be. Your verbal affirmation and those essential
signs which must flow out of that affirmation are accepted as
sufficient evidence ofyour Islam. Anyone who affirms by word of mouth
belief in Allaah, the Messenger, the Quran, the Hereafter and other
articles of faith, and who also fulfils those necessary conditions
whichprovide proof of his affirmation, is considered part of Muslim
society and all dealings with him are to be conducted as with a
Muslim.
This definition provides the legal and cultural basis on which Muslim
society is organized. Its purpose is no more than that all those who
enter into the Muslim Ummah (nation) al recognized as Muslims: nobody
from among them can b called a disbeliever; every one of them must
have the same mutual legal, moral and social rights; they should be
entitled to marry among Muslims; they should be eligible to receive
the share in inheritance; all other civil relations should be
established with them.
True Islam
However, in the world-to-come, you cannot be judged as Muslim and a
believer on the basis of thislegal affirmation, nor on this basis will
Allaah Almighty accept you as one of His chosen servants. What will
count then is having faith in hearts, and willingly and wholly
submitting lives to Allaah Almighty. Whatever verbally affirmed is
meant for courts and for the common man and the Muslim society. For
they can only see the exterior, but Allaah Almighty seesdeep into your
hearts and knows precisely the degree of your faith.
How will He judge a man? Allaah Almighty will see whether he lived and
died for Him Alone, whether his loyalties to Him superseded all other
loyalties, whether his obedience and his service, indeed his entire
life, were devoted only to Him Almighty. If they were solely for
Allaah Almighty then he will be adjudged a believer and a Muslim,but
if they were for someone else, then he will not be adjudged a Muslim
nor a believer.Whoever falls short of this criterion will, to the
extent he falls short, be lacking in faith and Islam, irrespective of
how important a Muslim the world may judge him and of any high
positions he may hold. With Allaah only one thing matters: whether or
not you have given away in His way all that He Almighty has given you.
If you have, you will be granted the reward which is reserved for
those who are loyal and render the service that is due. Bu if your
submission has been less than total, if you spare any part of your
life from His service, your claim to be Muslims which implies that you
have wholly given up yourselves to Allaah Almighty, will be a
deceptive claim. Although you may be able to mislead the world and
persuade the Muslim society to grant you its membership and all the
rights of Muslims, Allaah The All-Knowing cannot be deceived into
assigning a place for you among His faithful.
Reflect on the differences between legal Islam and true Islam and you
can see that their consequences will vary greatly, not only in the
Hereafter but also in this world; the life pursuits, character and
disposition of a true Muslim will be totally different from one who
merely parades the outward trappings of faith. You will always
encounter these two types of Muslims.